


Down the Wormhole

by CrispyDen



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Don't Starve, Gen, Ressurrection, Shadow King Wilson, Survival, Temporary Character Death, Wilson P. Higgsbury - Freeform, alice and wonderland au kinda?, maxwell carter, professor william carter, wilson percival higgsburry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-09-03 15:58:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8719870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrispyDen/pseuds/CrispyDen
Summary: The forest is a dangerous place, especially for a ten-year-old with a broiling sense of curiosity. Following a mystierous orange creature down a wormhole, young Virgil awakes to a harsh world in which he must survive. A man named Percival claims to be his guide in The World. But, what is this man really planning?





	

Calm sky, clouds listing, sun brightly shining. Young Virgil wouldn't have had it any other way. At first glance, he looked like such a dull elementary school student. White dress shirt, black vest and matching slacks. But, this boy loved all colors and life itself. He was fascinated by all forms of life, even if they weren't real. It was near 2PM, the last class of Virgil's school day. All the fourth graders piled into the small classroom then took their seats anywhere they desired. Once every child was seated, the tall teacher stood from his own desk. On the surface of the desk, was his name plate. "Prof. William Carter", it read in elegant cursive. The lanky man adjusted his circular glasses before reading out the role-call. He always hesitated when he reached the "H"s. 

 

"Virgil Hi-", he stopped at the sound of light tapping on the classroom door.

 

Professor Carter could only see the top of the short student's head from the small pane of glass. Alas, he knew exactly who that mess of black hair belonged to. The teacher opened up the door.

"Well, hello Virgil," he said with a calm smile. 

 

There stood the only student who was late to every class it seemed. Virgil's new shoes were caked in mud that was mixed it grass and flower petals. The small boy held up a messy bouquet of tulips, a grin on his small face.

 

"These are for you, Prof. Carter! Sorry that I'm late.. Again."

 

Prof. Carter just smiled more as he took the flowers into his long fingers, "Oh, thank you. You remembered my favorite bloom, how thoughtful."

 

Vigil held his joyous smile as he made his way to a seat beside the window. Prof. Carter put the flowers in a vase he had on his desk after putting some water in it. He did enjoy how different Virgil was from the other children in his class. 

 

"Now, let's get started, shall we? All of you, please turn to page 21. Today, we learn about water life!" Prof. Carter said with his hands clasped at his chest. Young minds began to flip through their books... all but Virgil, of course. He seemed lost in the window, gazing at the gorgeous day on the other side. 

 

"Can't we go outside, Professor? There's a creek not far off the field," a boy said with a raised hand.

 

The spectacled man took a moment to respond before agreeing. The class emptied rather quickly, the adult leading the class to the nearby creek. Frogs croaked and fish swam without a care. Virgil made sure that he stayed close to his teacher due to his fear of the nearby wood. It always spoke to him, tried to lure him into the awaiting darkness. Like a wolf in sheep's clothing, making his way towards his tender prey.

He heard the trees whispering his name again. Something was rustling in the bushes, catching the boy's sight. It peeked from the underbrush; saliva dripped from its hanging tongue. It seemed to be smiling, the small, fluffy, orange creature. What was this thing? Curiosity was boiling over. Leaves crunched under Virgil's muddy shoes and stuck to them as he chased after the eyeless, fuzzy creature. Twigs, leaves, branches. The boy ran through it all to keep sight of the thing. Determination pumped through him as he followed the odd sproinging creature. It had tiny horns and ran on four stumpy legs. Soon the sounds stopped and Virgil saw the orange beast jump down a massive toothed hole in the ground. He tried to tell himself it was a chasm of spiked rocks but, he could feel it breathing. 

Rasping breaths as well as ragged whispers murmured from the abyss of dripping teeth. Peering down with great caution, his eyes searched for the small beast. Why did it jump? Where did it go? Questions lingered as Virgil loomed closer to the edge. Cold air brushed against the young boy's pale skin. It felt like hands wrapping around his body. He actually began to feel sleepy. Virgil's eyes began to fall shut, great shadow hands grabbed up his small frame before tossing the child down the toothed hole. 

~~~~~

Cold air, hard earth and birds crying. These are the first things Virgil came to notice when he woke up. His head was throbbing in agony. The landscape around him was foreign to his blurry eyes. Another sound caught his ringing ears. A man's laughter.

 

"Say pal, you don't look so good," said an average sized man in a fur-trimmed coat. His hair was a crazy, pitch black like the night sky. Black rings darkened his eyes making a heavy contrast to his porcelain skin. He gave a small sneer before taking a puff of his cigar. 

 

"Who are you?" asked young Virgil.

 

"Call me Percival, kid. I'll be your guide for now," said the man in the fur-trim coat. 

 

"My guide? But where am I?"

 

"The World. All you need to do is survive and find my portal. Once you do that, I'll tell you what to do next."

 

With that final statement, Percival was gone into the earth below. Survive?! Virgil sat back and tried to calm down. He was just a child! How could he survive in a world like this? All he could see was trees for miles. The boy stood and began to look for any form of food. Berries, carrots and even rabbits! The rabbits would be very difficult to catch without a trap. His ears caught the sound of buzzing bees. Saliva pooled in his mouth at the thought of honey, he absolutely adored it. He and his mother collected it from bees all the time. Virgil rolled up his left sleeve before approaching the hive. Slowly, he reached into the chaos inside the beehive. Stinging was absolutely expected! The boy moved extremely slow as he felt around with his fingertips for any loose combs. Just one large piece would have been enough for a teen year old. Finally, he gently pulled out a honey dripping comb from the hive. His arm was covered in bees, stinging without mercy. Virgil walked off with the honeycomb, dusting the bees and detached stingers from his arm. 

It hurt, yes, but he had done this numerous times. As he began to munch on the honeycomb, he couldn’t help but think of his mother. She must be wondering where he was. It must have been passed 4PM by now and school was over. But, The World was a new place. Hostile, ruthless and much more unpredictable. The young boy had to think of only himself now, as much as he hated it. Once the honey had settled in his stomach, Virgil set off to search for shelter and food. Nightfall was approaching and only God knows what lurked in The World, especially at night. He began to gather sapling branches and wild grasses along with flint, stones and flowers. Anything that could serve a purpose. What could he even make with such basic items? With a pondering mind, Virgil began to sharpen a few of the stones he had found. Using weaved grass and a branch, he fashioned a flimsy spear. It wasn’t much but, it could defend him from smaller predators. Firewood would be the next thing the boy needed to get through the night. Fire is a must! He feared it would get too cold and the dark was his worst enemy. Things stalked the dark in his world and he’d dare not find out what monstrosities await him in The World. 

Virgil searched for a large boulder to help chisel out his the head for his ax. The sun was setting quickly.. big trouble. Dusk soon hushed the land, throwing Virgil into a panic. Whispers rang in his ears as he ran into the cover of the trees. A clearing served  a nice place to camp. The boy nestled twigs and dry grass into a pile before striking the flint and stone. Faint sparks rained onto the kindling and began to smoke. Virgil was cautious as he softly encouraged the flames to grow. Warmth soon wrapped around him, as the flames grew higher. With a few more twigs to keep it lit, the young boy began to chip away at the stone for the ax blade. The stone ax head wasn’t perfect nor was it complete. 

He rubbed his eyes as the sun began to lay her head on the waves nearby. The child was exhausted, he had never walked so much for so long. His mother drove him around in his father’s motorcar. He lay his head down on his rolled up vest, trying to get as comfortable as he could. The fire was warm, the ground was cold but, the grass was soft. Drifting off was easier than ever for once. It felt like his mother had him wrapped up beside the fireplace back home. Warmth soon turned to hot heat and that to blistering pain. Virgil’s eyes shot open, only to close them again. Smoke burned his eyes, flames ravaged the trees and grass. He grabbed at his left bicep, the skin was terribly burned. Sweat dripped from his hair and face, stinging his burns. 

Pain was the only feeling had coursing through him. Smoke scorched his throat and lungs as he ran through the smoldering wood. The child tried to run from it all but, the whole forest seemed to be blazing. Virgil felt his skin blistering and almost peeling off his body in excruciating agony. His lungs couldn’t inhale or exhale, his head was spinning. Losing all body fluids in addition to his skin cooking on his bones. His small frame felt the flames licking him, scorching every inch of him. 

~~~~~

Percival gazed into the mirror as he watched the child run for his life through the blazing wild fire. The man had his cheek resting against his chin.

 

“What a shame. He built a fire too close to the trees. These things happen.”

 

He waved his hand over the mirror after it had gone black with smoke. 

 

“I know how you feel, kiddo. It really does feel horrible to burn in an accidental blaze. I have myself more times than I would like to admit.”

Percival stood from the Nightmare Throne and began to pace. An idea came to him as well did a dark smirk. The man rushed to a large crystal ball and raised his hands. Smoke swirled inside the glass, faces of passed survivors of The World. 

“Which one of these fools can help?”

He snapped his fingers to search through the ones who failed to reach the Throne, “Ah! Yes. This one will do just fine.”

The Shadow King licked his lips as he made the fallen survivor rise to The World above. 

“Let’s hope the Lumberjack will help our little burnt crisp of a boy.”


End file.
